


For the Chief on His Birthday

by apollonious



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, F/M, Fluff, New Berk (How to Train Your Dragon), saturday is dragon day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apollonious/pseuds/apollonious
Summary: On Hiccup’s second birthday after the founding of New Berk, Astrid has a surprise for him.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	For the Chief on His Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something for our favorite birthday Viking <3

Hiccup wakes up alone. That’s not unusual for him these days, but he had rather hoped it wouldn’t be the case this particular morning. 

He can hear his children laughing downstairs in the kitchen. Astrid is down there too. Though he can’t quite make out what she’s saying, the tone of her voice tells him she’s trying to wrangle them, to contain the utterly perfect chaos that is the storm of Zephyr and Nuffink. But she’s starting to give over to laughter too. 

Hiccup shuts his eyes, feeling contentment roll through him. A smile spreads on his lips.

It’s his birthday.

He’s twenty-eight. 

For a long time—even before he met Toothless and started nearly dying seemingly every other week—he didn’t think he would last this long. Maybe even especially then, when he’d just been the Chief’s sickly, too-small son, almost certainly the next of the children born in his year to die at any given time.

But he has made it. 

Someday that might stop being surprising to him.

Zephyr’s getting so big, he thinks as an extra-loud laugh rings out from her. He’s still had more birthdays than her, but she’ll have passed him by the time he gets to his next one. And she’s taking well to her role as the Heir, better than he ever did. He grins at the memory of the dressing-down she gave to a farmer last week when it was discovered that part of the man’s seed stock had been carelessly left out in the elements and ruined. Hiccup had had to send her away and reassure the visibly shaken farmer that he wasn’t going to be punished, that it could happen to anyone and he just needed to be more careful in the future, but he has to admit he’s still so proud of his daughter. It bodes well for her being able to assert her authority as a woman Chief, and though he’ll never tell her this, he’s been a little nervous about that. 

He’s so proud of her.

Nuffink, too—though the little boy doesn’t have anything near the responsibility his sister does, he’s already finding ways to make his mark on New Berk. He’s brought out a responsible side in Tuffnut Hiccup didn’t think existed, and even as a small child he’s showing an enthusiasm and aptitude for fighting that surprises the New Berkians, most of whom seem to have forgotten the kind of swordsman Hiccup was in his youth. Even if he hadn’t usually used a typical sword. Whether he’ll have much of a chance to use them, Hiccup is willing to bet that Nuffink is going to have some serious skills with a sword one day. 

And Astrid—

Hiccup makes a happy noise in his throat and snuggles back down into his pillow, breathing deep. His smile widens as he catches Astrid’s scent on the covers.

His fond reminiscing is cut short as the bedroom door bangs open. “Daddy!” Nuffink shouts.

Hiccup sits bolt upright just as a small, dense blonde shape launches itself into his chest.

“Hey, good morning, bud,” he says, laughing and hugging Nuffink. 

“Happy birthday, Daddy!” Nuffink says. 

“Well, thank you, Nuffink,” Hiccup says. He glances toward the door. “Where’s your mother?”

“She’s still downstairs,” Nuffink says. “She told me to come and get you.”

“Did she really?”

“Uh-huh!”

Hiccup chuckles. “Well, then I guess we’d better obey her summons.”

Nuffink nods gravely. As Hiccup walks into the kitchen, Nuffink in his arms, Nuffink says, “I brought Daddy, Mommy!”

Astrid turns from the pot she’s stirring on the hearth and smiles. “I see that,” she says. “Good job, honey.” She comes over and kisses Hiccup, who wraps an arm around her waist. Nuffink, who is used to this, steadies himself with a fist in the front of Hiccup’s nightshirt. “Good morning, babe,” she says.

“Good morning, milady,” Hiccup says. “Though don’t you think being summoned is a little beneath the dignity of a Chief?” He speaks with mock severity.

Astrid laughs. “Why, you stuck-up, scruffy-looking—“

“Who’s scruffy-looking?” Hiccup demands.

“You are, with that beard,” Zephyr remarks tartly. She’s decided recently that she doesn’t like Hiccup’s beard. Astrid does, though, and hers is the vote that matters. Besides, he’s pretty sure that if he shaved the beard, Zephyr wouldn’t like that either. He hasn’t been clean-shaven in years, and the sight would probably shock her.

He has to concede that it might be getting a little long, though.

“You see how she talks to me?” Hiccup asks Astrid in exasperation. “And on my birthday, too.”

Astrid chuckles. “Zephyr, tell your father happy birthday.”

Zephyr rolls her eyes. “Happy birthday, Daddy.”

Hiccup passes Nuffink over to Astrid and bends to kiss Zephyr on the cheek. “Thank you, sweetie,” he says, giving her a hug. 

Astrid kisses him again as he straightens up. “Happy birthday,” she says. 

“Thanks, Astrid.”

The bubbling of the pot by the fire intensifies.

“Oh!” Astrid says, turning toward it. “Breakfast is ready.” She passes Nuffink back to Hiccup and starts ladling the porridge into bowls. 

“Nuffink and I helped Mommy cook!” Zephyr says.

“You—you did?” Hiccup asks, suddenly apprehensive.

 _It’s okay,_ Astrid mouths over their heads. 

“How nice of you two,” Hiccup says to the kids.

They settle down around the table to eat. Nuffink hasn’t quite mastered eating with a spoon yet, so Hiccup sits him on his knee and supervises, helping out as necessary. By the time they’re finished eating, Nuffink’s face and the front of Hiccup’s nightshirt are both covered in porridge. 

“Do you two remember what I told you about why Dad’s birthday is so special?” Astrid asks.

“Because it only happens once every four years, not once a year like everyone else!” Zephyr says.

“That’s right!” Astrid says.

“And because we’re—” Nuffink begins, but Astrid cuts him off with a shake of her head, and he falls silent. 

“Here you go, Nuffink,” she says, using a cloth to wipe his face. She lifts him off Hiccup’s knee and sets him down on the floor. “Why don’t you two go see if Gobber needs any help?”

“Help with what?” Hiccup asks, trying to clean himself off with the same cloth. 

Nobody answers him. “Okay, Mom!” Zephyr says, and taking Nuffink’s hand, she runs out the back door.

“Were you just trying to get rid of them?” Hiccup asks. 

“No, they really are helping Gobber,” Astrid says. 

“Well, be that as it may,” Hiccup says, standing and walking over to her. He starts gathering her into his arms, but she presses her hands against his chest, giggling in a way that is rather unbecoming for a Chieftess and a mother of two.

“While you’re very romantic covered in porridge,” she says, wiping a little of the stuff onto the previously clean shoulder of his nightshirt, “I think we’d better get to work for the day. We don’t want to keep the village waiting. Don’t you think so?”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Hiccup says. “I’ll just go get dressed.” 

When they emerge from the front door of the Chief’s house a little while later, Hiccup stops short, his mouth gaping open.

What looks like it must be the entire village is gathered outside, and as they spot him, they erupt in a deafening cheer. He hears _“Surprise!”_ and _“Happy birthday, Chief!”_ and _“Yay Hiccup!”_ and countless other cheers. Zephyr and Nuffink are up front, on either side of Gobber, and they run forward, each hugging one of Hiccup’s legs. 

Looking around, Hiccup can see that it’s not just the people who have gathered: there are tables set up and lights strung between houses and trees that will light up once the sun goes down, which, though it’s only mid-morning, isn’t so terribly far off. He can smell meat cooking, and there are barrels of mead and ale here and there on the tables.

In short, it’s a feast. 

In his honor—or, at least, on his birthday.

And he had no idea.

“Did you do this?” Hiccup asks, turning to Astrid. 

She’s barely suppressing a grin. “Well... I had help.”

“Yeah, she sure did,” Snotlout says from one side of the front porch, and Hiccup turns to see him standing there, along with Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and the Ingerman twins, who are between Zephyr and Nuffink in age. Ruffnut has a hand on each of the children’s shoulders, and she’s smiling.

“Though in the spirit of fairness, we must admit that ‘twas Astrid’s idea,” Tuffnut says, “it was we who decorated the statue of your late father, Stoick the Vast.”

Almost reluctantly, Hiccup looks toward the statue. But it’s fine. More than fine, it’s draped with garlands and winter flowers, including the ones that both Astrid and Hiccup wore on their wedding day.

It was only two birthdays ago that he was there, celebrating with Hiccup, and only a few months after that that he died. Hiccup swallows down a pang at the memory.

“Thank you all so much,” he says quietly, then, louder, addressing the crowd, he goes on, “I want to thank you all for coming, and for throwing me this—this wonderful party. As usual, my wife managed to catch me off guard.”

That draws an appreciative chuckle from the crowd.

“But don’t stand around on my count. Enjoy yourselves!”

Another cheer rises, this one a little less unified, and the crowd obeys, scattering, each to find their own amusements.

Gobber walks up the steps onto the front porch, smiling.

“Gobber, what’s all this about?” Hiccup asks.

“Well, we thought—that is, Astrid thought, and we all agreed, that we should properly celebrate your birthday,” Gobber says, waving an expansive hand at the villagers milling around in front of them.

“But so close to the end of winter?” Hiccup asks. “That’s what Snoggletog is for. Can we afford the resources?” 

“We’re going to be fine,” Astrid says, taking his hand, and though she’s winter-thin, as are they all, Hiccup knows she’s right. She wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise, and the others wouldn’t have gone for it if she did. 

“That’s why we didn’t ask beforehand. We knew you’d say no,” Ruffnut says, and all the Riders, Hiccup included, laugh at that.

“We thought about doing it for your last birthday, truth be told, but we thought it best to wait,” Gobber said. “The village wasn’t up on its feet quite enough for that, if you recall.”

Hiccup does recall.

“So, what do you say?” Gobber says. “Will you come join the merriment?”

“You know, I think I will,” Hiccup says after a moment, scooping up Zephyr. With his Heir laughing on his shoulders, he wades into the crowd below. 

It’s later now, much later. The kids are in bed, both worn out from the party, and Hiccup is feeling much the same. There are still a few last-minute revelers, including Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but for the most part, New Berk is asleep. Hiccup, still more than a little tipsy from the mead, is rather inclined to join them. 

But that would mean looking away from Astrid, which he’s not quite ready to do yet. 

Her cheeks are pink from the mead, as he knows his are, and she’s smiling at him in the light of the hearth in their bedroom. No longer encumbered by porridge, he takes her in his arms and kisses her, once, twice, again and again, the pleasant, warm fuzziness in his head intensifying as she kisses him back. 

“Happy birthday, babe,” she says when they pull apart to catch their breath. 

“Thank you, Astrid,” he says. “For everything. This has been the best birthday ever.”

Grinning, she kisses him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you liked it. 
> 
> We’ll be getting back to our regularly scheduled programming—by which, of course, I mean the next chapter of City of Bridges—next week. We’re getting pretty close to the end.
> 
> If you’d like to leave a comment, I always love reading them and would greatly appreciate it. Feedback is always welcome.
> 
> Thanks again!


End file.
